Kings Residential

I am thinking of selling an investment property which has tenants in it. I have spoken to them about this and they are fine with it. Is there anything I need to consider here?

First of all I am glad that you have spoken to your tenants about this. Many landlords don’t and this can cause a lot of bad feeling and even cause your tenants to leave early. Unless it is written into their original contract tenants do not have to allow viewings and if the agent continues to do them against their permission that could amount to you breaking your side of the contract, which must allow them peaceful enjoyment of the property, and therefore not being entitled to rent! Since the tenants are happy with the arrangement make sure your agent has the tenants contact details and a set of keys / fobs. Ask your agent to give the tenants reasonable notice (at least 24hrs) and ask your tenants to keep the property tidy for viewings. Keep in contact with both your agent and tenants to make sure viewings are going smoothly.

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I have had to put my mother’s property in Stretford on the market as she has now moved into a home. I do not live locally to it and do not want it to start to look shabby. What do you think is necessary in this situation.

It can be a good idea to ask the local gardener to pop round periodically and keep the outside areas looking nice - kerb appeal is very important. Your agent should be able to visit the property periodically as agreed between you and inform you of any major problems that occur (leaks etc). It is a good idea to have the system drained down and gas supplies switched off (the buildings insurance often requires this if a property is left empty for a long period of time - check with your insurer). If you are really worried you could employ a cleaner for the inside but I would not think this would be necessary for the initial marketing period.

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I have been trying to sell my Apartment in Manchester City Centre for a while now and am getting quite desperate as my cash flow is now very tight. Should I give up and consider renting instead

If selling is still your first choice the first thing to do is look at your asking price - everything will sell for the right price and if yours has been on the market for a long time with little interest in the way of offers then the price needs to go down to secure the sale. Also ask your agent for any other suggestions they have. If you are happy to rent for a while before selling the best course of action is to find an agent who can put it on for sale and to let simultaneously and see which comes first, then you can make a final decision!

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I have been getting feedback from my viewings suggesting my house is quite dark - is there anything I can do bar making the windows bigger!

When people view make sure that all blinds are pulled back and all curtains tied up. If you have net curtains it might be a good idea to remove these as they block a lot more light than you might think. Make sure no large ornaments are blocking any windows or large pieces of furniture blocking the flow of light into the whole of the room. Also look at the decor; rooms should have light neutral coloured walls to look their best - dark colours will make a room look darker (and smaller!). Also make sure you put the lights on if it is a dull day!

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My estate agent has told me that I need to do some work on the outside of my house but surely its the inside that counts?

People often form their opinion of a property in the first 30 seconds or so. If that opinion isn’t good you are then fighting an uphill battle for the rest of the viewing.

Simple things can make all the difference. Make sure gardens and tidy, lawns are looking healthy and flags are cleaned. Some pretty flowers can really brighten things up, no need to go overboard just a few strategiacally placed and perhaps a hanging basket or two. If you are coming up to winter some evergreens can have the same effect. Home owners also tend to overlook cleaning the front door (especially white UPVC ones that show up all the dirt!) and external windowsills.

If your viewer sees that the outside of the property has been cared for they will be reassured and less likely to be looking for problems throughout the rest of the viewing.

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We have had a few viewings on our property and all the feedback has been the same - the third bedroom is too small. Obviously we can’t change the size of the bedroom but is there anything else we can do?

Mr T, Stretford

Without seeing your property it is difficult to say exactly what could be done but it is worth looking at how the room is furnished.

The ‘box room’ should always be dressed as a bedroom rather than a study and there should be no clutter, just the basic bedroom furniture. This helps show viewers that a single bed will fit in comfortably; without the furniture it can be hard for some people to visualise.

If this has already been tried with no result it may be that your asking price is a little high for a property of your size, after all, everything will sell for the right price.

Try a reduction of at least £5000 to make an impact and bring buyers from a whole new price bracket in to view your property. Look for an agent who offers honest advice based on viewer feedback from yours and similar properties. Some will even offer free ‘house doctor’ advice to make sure that your property is shown at its best.

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I think my property for sale in Urmston is worth more than the estate agent thought it was, they put it on the market 14 weeks ago at the price I wanted and it’s not sold. I instructed another agent as a joint agent 8 weeks ago and still no offers and only a few viewings. The feedback has been they thought it was too expensive.I think it’s just the estate agents trying to get the price down. What do you think?

Sam

I think you are right. The agents are trying to get the price down becaue you ignored their initial advice and your house is unlikely to achieve the price that you desire. Remember, your agent sells houses and he knows what he is talking about. He can look at your house objectively without any emotional involvement to gauge the appropriate price at which to market your house. Remember, more than one agent has given you the same advice.

You should take on board what the agents have said. Reduce your price. After 3 months on the market your property is a stale instruction to the agent and if you are unwilling to reduce the price and the price is unrealistic then the agent probably won’t bother doing anything with it. If you were my client and were not taking my advice and after 3 months you were still unwilling to drop the price then I would have dis-instructed myself as you would be costing me money in advertising and marketing costs. The property market is a buyers market at the moment and if you are unrealistic in price then your property will remain unsold. Check with the landregistry on www.mouseprice.co.uk or www.nethouseprices.com and by putting your postcode in you can see what properties in your road sold for over the last 5 years, if yours is well over the highest then you are trying to push the price up on your street and this only works in a strong sellers market.

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My Estate Agent in Stretford wants me to leave him with a key whilst I am on holiday so that he can do viewings. I don’t like the idea of the agent snooping around my house while I am not there.George

Estate Agents see far too many properties to have a particular interest in ’snooping’ around yours. I would suggest that you hand the agent a key and let him enjoy unhindered viewing access while you are away and unable to get under his feet and mess the place up. Simply tidy up, hand over the key and enjoy your holiday while your agent gets on with his job

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My estate agent wants a key for my house, but I don’t want to give one to them. I want to be there for the viewings.

Cathy

If you don’t trust a key to the estate agent get one that you do trust. An estate agent is a sales man/woman and if you put problems in the way then they’ll sell something that is easier to sell. Your agent is employed by you to sell your house so let them do it, if they ask for a key then let them have one.

An estate agent needs access when the buyer wants to see it. One ‘trick’ of an estate agent is to have a potential purchaser to view one property and also have the keys for another similar one, and in a lot of cases this results in a sale. If you put obstacles in the way then if you only have yourself to blame if your property doesn’t sell.

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I have inherited my mothers old house, it is beautifully presented with patterned brown carpet, draylon sofas and G-Plan furniture and is jam packed with lots of interesting ni-nacs and antiques. The kitchen is okay, old but clean and the bathroom is avocado in colour with matching sink and toilet.
The property externally is tidy. It is a standard post war semi detached, the central heating is new and the double glazing was fitted 3 years ago. The probate took an age to come through and the estate agent seems to have lost interest. I did get a couple of offers in the first few weeks but because of the probate taking to long they found other properties.
Have you any suggestions how I can sell this quickly?

Enid

Enid

This is a straight forward situation, firstly clear the personal items and clutter out. Have a car boot sale, or sell them on eBay or take to the local charity shop.

The furniture will be fine to show the property off, however thin it out, a living room should really only have sofas, coffee table and perhaps a sideboard/bookcase, dining room a table and chairs and perhaps a sideboard, bedrooms should have beds, wardrobe and bedside tables. If the furniture is tatty chuck it out.

The bathroom could be cleaned up, however buyers do get a little put off if the bathroom and kitchen need replacing, that is a warning sign which could be expensive. Avocado suites will never come back into fashion, it is a vile colour that never looks clean. Replace it with a white suite. You can pick up a suite for around £200 at most DIY shops DO NOT go for any shell design, this is nearly as bad as Avocado, just go for simple and straightforward style, a plumber can easily swap them over in half a day and charge around £200-300 and cart the old one way.

Patterned carpets are my pet hate, worse than Avocado bathroom suites! Replacing them can be costly though, cream carpets are a good replacement but I would strongly suggest holding fire on changing this. A clear out and a bathroom change will make the property more appealing to buyers. Another tip is make the garden look respectable. You want to create kerb appeal to the buyers.

Clearing out your property will also make selling it so much easier, the personal possessions are dealt with and when you do have a buyer you just have to get a house clearance company to get rid of everything else.

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